Hello to all

   It has been a long time since I blogged anything.   Obviously the outcome of the election really saddened me.   Watching my stocks crash to practically nothing saddened me.  Hearing about how they now want to dip into our 403's saddened me.  Remember when they wanted to borrow from our Social security?  Now we have none!  If they had left it alone everyone would have been able to retire and take care of yourself without having to depend on the government to help you.   Oh well.   On and on but I am not going to post about this anymore.  The people apparently have made their choice.  Not my choice but I will have to live with the consequences.  So, I will blog about my dog and cat instead.

  Hoss, what a big old goofy dog he has been.   Hoss is officially an obedience school drop out.   I didn't care for the methods they were using and it was making Hoss a cranky dog.  So we have been finishing out his training ourselves and it has gone well.   He still has him moments of not listening to a thing we say but usually when he has something going on more important then listening to us.  Like a big ole buck going through the yard.

   He has been fixated with the deer lately.  I think it has something to do with rutting season as he didn't pay much attention to them before.   Now he wants to pull us into the woods all the time and has taken to snacking on deer droppings.  Oh yick.  Sloppy dog kisses flavored with deer poo.  Not my favorite.  Plus the bucks are skittish this time of year.  I really don't want to take off trailing one and have it turn on us.  So we have been doing most of our walks by the river.

  The weather has turned cold.  I am so not ready for it.   Immediately I came down with bronchitis.  I have been coughing non stop for a week.   Yesterday I finally went to see the doc and got some meds to curb the cough and help with my breathing.  And I slept a couple of hours by sleeping on the couch.  

  The downside of the cold weather is much shorter walks with Hoss.   Hoss is a great dog, especially if he gets a lot of exercise.   We have been walking miles with him and hiking all the old trails that Zoey loved.  Hoss loves them also.  A couple of long walks a day and Hoss is a contented dog.  Cut the walks short though.  Hoss gets stir crazy and naughty.   Poor Xena,  there she was happily sleeping on her kitty bed.

  Hoss all of a sudden ran over, grabbed the bed by a foot and flung it across the room.   With the poor kitty sleeping inside.  Course she landed on her feet but she was not amused.


Xena has gotten big.  I think she is almost a year now.  She is a pretty cat and gets along with Hoss pretty good.  Hoss tends to get a little rougher with her then I like.  But the cat does egg Hoss on to a game of chase me.  Xena has her escape routes all planned out and will get under the dresser where Hoss can't get her.  Then she sits under there and bats at him with her paw.

  They seem to be pretty good friends.  We do stop Hoss if he seems to rough.  
  
   Chester our guinea pig died.   It was pretty sad and sudden but he was an old piggy and he had a pretty good life with us.  Xena walked around howling for days but now seems to be better.  She did start clawing all my furniture so we put her soft claws on her again.  Isn't she styling?  Blue is her color for sure.

   We are in the process of getting approved to adopt another Boxer.  Yup, everyone agrees Hoss is a boxer.

  We are going through Northern Plains Boxer Rescue.   We like the idea of rescuing and this place is great.  They check all your references and then they match the boxer with your lifestyle and Hoss's for the best fit.  Right now they care checking our references but I know that will be good.  We are responsible and loving pet owners.   So hopefully if everything works out we will be a 2 dog family, and one cat soon.  We are excited.

  

                                  Dear God: Here is a list of
                        just some of the things I must remember
                                        to be a good Dog:

 

1. I will not eat the cat's food before she eats it or after she throws it up.

2. I will not roll on dead seagulls, fish,
crabs, etc., just because I like the way they smell.

 

3. The Litter Box is not a cookie jar.

4. The sofa is not a 'face towel'.

5. The garbage collector is not stealing our stuff.

6. I will not play tug-of-war with Dad's
underwear when he's on the toilet.

7. Sticking my nose into someone's
crotch is an unacceptable way of saying 'hello'.

8. I don't need to suddenly stand
straight up when I'm under the coffee table.

9. I must shake the rainwater out of my fur before
entering the house - not after.

10. I will not come in from outside,
and immediately drag my butt across the carpet.

11. I will not sit in the middle of the living
room, and lick my crotch.

12. The cat is not a 'squeaky toy',
so when I play with him and he makes that noise,
it's usually not a good thing.

P.S. Dear God:

When I get to Heaven,
May I have my testicles back?

A walk in the Fall

   We decided to go for a drive to one of our favorite parks and check out the fall colors.   Hoss spent so much of his life chained in a yard he loves these outings and Zoey used to love this park.  The colors are spectacular already.

 We started out on the top of the hill where the grass is high and varied.  Hoss loved it.  He dragged Rick into the thick of it and then found a hill and sat and took it in.

   While they explored the tall grass I took photos.

   Finally they had circled the hill and Hoss led him safely back to the van.   Ricks legs are all scratched up from the grass

  Hoss just thought this was the neatest place and didn't want to leave but we had more to see.

 

Moving down the hill the colors were really bursting.  I was afraid since it has been so dry here we wouldn't have much of a fall but it was so pretty.

 

    

   The dock where I used to fish a lot was still there and I wished I had my pole.  Of course as soon as we got down to the lake Hoss jumped in and had a splash.

In the yard Hoss has been walking so good, loose leash and healing, sitting when I stop and stay and free.   Here it was sensory overload and Rick got a real workout on his bicep's keeping Hoss from dragging him all over.

  Hoss kept looking back to see what was taking me so long but I was busing taking pictures.

 

 

  I just love walking on paths like this with the leaves crunching underfoot and the smells of fall are so spicy and rich.

 

Rick kept pointing out things of interest to Hoss who dutifully looked and seemed to appreciate it.

   This lake full of duckweed really interested Hoss and it was all we could do to keep him from jumping in.   He likes the water a lot more then Zoey did.

 

   We did sit by the lake and rest as Hoss was pulling us at a pretty good clip.  Even the leaves on the ground were turning color and the Poison Ivy looks so pretty.  Didn't touch it though.

 

    We walked through the electrical campsites and all the dogs in their crates were barking at Hoss.   I was pretty proud that he just calmly walked through them all but then right in front of all the campers he swung his butt off the trail and left a huge reminded that he had been here.  It happened so quick I couldn't stop him and I was not prepared to pick it up.  We we all slunk off with our tails between our legs, well not Hoss since he has no tails.  He looked pretty darn pleased with himself in fact.

 

   Back around to the front of the lake again and the light was getting yucky so we packed up a very happy Hoss and drove home.

 

   I love the country in the fall.  Hoss had his head partly out of window and you could hear his lips flapping.

 

   I thought this small building looked so cool with that massive tree in the background.

 

   And of course barns always thrill me

 

    It was a great trip.   Hoss got home and collapse but I know he had as good a time as we did.

   We had hesitated to adopt a grown dog, would he bond with us, could we fix any bad habits.   Well it has been a joy.  No potty training,  no chewed up shoes.   It has been pretty fun so far.  So if you're thinking about it but just aren't sure give it a try.  Save a life. We are glad we did.

Hoss can Obey

 

 It has been 2 weeks today since we adopted Hoss and it is going amazingly well.  We were so lucky to have found him.  He is really a good dog and is getting even better with training.  We have had no accidents in the house, yeah.

       I have always done my own training of our dogs in the past but with hard headed stubborn Hoss being 2 and a half and set in some of his ways we decided taking a obedience class would help us train  him.   Rick and Hoss are taking the class which is good.   Rick wasn't as ready to get another dog as I was and although he liked Hoss OK he was not ready to open his heart to another dog.   Years ago it was the same way with Zoey.   Zoey wasn't Kari and he had no intention of falling in love with another dog and then going through the heartbreak of losing it.

  Believe me when I say I understand completely.  But,  I love animals.  I love having a dog around the house.  And with Rick not working he needs a dog around to keep him active, well he is always active,  but to give him someone to tend to while I am working. It has started a bond between them that I can see will be strong.

     So anyway.  Hoss had had little to none leash walking training.   That is the first thing we started working on.   We have walked miles and hours and he is doing so good.  He will now loose leash walk almost all the time unless he is intent on finding the perfect potty spot.  Rick has been working on heel and he is getting that down also,  especially after we have walked for a mile or 2.  He is getting so almost every single time we stop walking he will sit at our side and stay until we say free.  So smart.  And slowly he is learning not to jump on strangers and give them big sloppy kisses in their face.  They never are sure with him being so large if they are going to get a kiss or their face ripped off.

    Hoss does have some bad habits.  He is as stubborn as a mule.   Rick was working on training outside and when done wanted to come in.  Hoss did not want to come in.  Rick commanded,  Hoss laid down.  Rick tugged and said come,  Hoss rolled over on his back.  Rick finally had to pick him up and carry him in the house.    He will do the same thing in the van.  If he isn't ready to stop riding he won't get out of the van.  You have to lift him out.  Or if he gets into your seat it is a battle of wills to get him in the back seat.   We bought him a harness seatbelt to keep him safely in the back so he wouldn't climb on Ricks lap while driving and would safe if we ever had an accident.  You use the seatbelt to hold it in place.  Well Hoss figured out pretty quick how to put his big ole paw on the release and now that was a waste of money.  Instead I keep another leash wrapped around on the bottom of the back seat and clip him to that.  So far he has not figured how to get out of it.

   And we have found him on our kitchen table 3 times.  Yikes.  If we go out to work in the yard he will hop on the table to see us.  I have tried cans to scare him when they fall off, I think he thought that was great fun, keeping all the chairs flush to the table, he moves them out, and of course naughty dog, Ha, yeah like that works.  And he chewed on the leg of my beautiful 140 year old rocker I inherited from Betty.  First thing we did when we got him was get him a couple of wonderful chews toys, does he chew on them, oh no.  Cat toys, yes, kids toys, yes, antique rockers yes,  his own toys, heck no.

    So as you can see stubborn.  But oh so lovable.  He does not have a mean bone in his body.  Like Zoey you can clean out his ears, wash his face, trim his nail, look in his mouth, he takes it all in, happy to be at your side getting petted and primped over.  He will see a stranger at the store and roll over on his back to beg for a tummy rub.  Rather embarrassing but it works, he almost always gets the person to say, Ohhhh so cute and rub his belly.  He loves that.

   At night he sleeps, not on his dog bed, heck no, he sleeps on our antique bed.  So much more comfortable don't ya know.    We are just happy he isn't sleeping with us as he has a snore louder then Ricks.   We can still hear it from our bedroom but it is much better then if he were in our room.  The cat doesn't seem to mind as she has taken to sleeping with Hoss since it has gotten cooler.  And he will go to bed at 9 pm and sleep until 8:30.  

  Hoss also has this cute thing he does.  He purrs when you pet him.  I swear!  You pet him and this low rumbling comes out of his mouth and he looks so content and happy.  Makes you smile to hear it.

   The trainer and everyone that sees him thinks he is a boxer.  I think they may be right.  The woman that originally had seemed sure he was what I thought but he does look like a fawn boxer with a english bulldog type head.   Doesn't matter, they are both goofy friendly lovable dogs with a calm demeanor.  As long as he is friendly and lovable I don't care what breed.  We love him.  I think Zoey would have loved him.  Heck even Chester seems to like him.

   So do you think he looks like he has a boxer body?  I think he looks a little thin yet also but we are working on that.   Poor baby, with the allergies so bad his eyes are running as much as my nose.

 

Getting to know him

      It has been 4 days now since we adopted Hoss.   It has been going amazing smooth.   He is so laid back and friendly we haven't had any problems except he gets so excited when people comes over.   Sophia sat on the couch and Hoss just hurled himself on her lap and started licking her.  I couldn't even see her under his bulk.   I hauled him off and checked her out.  Except for a small scratch by her eye she was fine, a little shook up but the rest of the visit went well.   We do need to train him.

   He just started to learn to walk on a leash last week.   At first he pulled and boy is he strong.   I watched the video's on You Tube from the dog whisperer on how to handle that and since he is such a quick learning and so eager to please he now does loose walk almost perfectly.   I have not tried him without a leash yet except at the dog park.

   We went to the dog park when it was empty as I wanted to see if he would come when called,  he did.  But with no other dogs to play with he didn't seem to care for it much.   We will try it with dogs in the park next time.  He loves to play with other dogs.

   One problem we have noticed is he won't poo in the yard or the woods.   Taking him down to the river every day won't always work.  We need to work on that.  Zoey always we to a spot in the woods and did her business.  I am not sure how to fix this but have been carrying treats to reward him if he ever decides to go in the woods.

   Yesterday we went to the vet.  Hoss is a rescue dog.   He still has scabs on his neck from the chain that was too small the previous owners had used to keep him tied up.  Some are kind of infected looking.   And on his left flank were several small scars.   Feeling them you can feel small hard lumps under the skin.   We think at sometime he was shot with birdshot.   He used to wander around and liked playing with cows.   Seems someone took offense to that and shot him.   With all that he is still so kind and loving.  How could anyone shoot him!   But besides that he is very healthy.  He weighed in at 74.6 pounds which is perfect for him.  He is lean and muscular.   And hopefully heart worm neg.   The vet said if we didn't hear from her today it was good to go.  Since he lived out in the country I am worried about that.  They never did any preventive on him.  Keep your fingers crossed she doesn't call so I can start him on his heartquard in the morning. ( no call from the vet so Hoss is heartworm free, yippy).

   Since he is young he loves to play but can get a little rough.  He nips at you.  We stop him and give him an appropriate toy to mouth and that is getting better but if he gets real excited I play music for him.   Have you heard of the CD's Through A Dogs Ears?  I played him a sample and he is now sleeping and snoring up a storm.  Wow.  I ordered the tape.   Play is good,  but not nipping, so piano music calms him down rapidly.

   Boy can this dog snore.   I went to bed before Rick last night and he said when he came into the bedroom Hoss was laying on his side with his head on Ricks pillow and Xena was between us both.  Hoss was snoring up a storm.  Rick laughed and took the spare room where he slept well and I kept getting nudged over by the dog, that I thought was Rick.  Have to change that.

   Oh, one other problem.  These dogs are suppose to love water.  Not Hoss.  Since he smells very doggy from living on a farm I wanted to give him a bath.   He won't get in the tub.  They don't say stubborn as a bulldog for nothing.   So I decided to try the hose.  That scared him.  I wonder if the old owner used to punish him by spraying him?   I washed him off instead with a washcloth and cleaned his dirty ears and may try a place where you can wash him yourself, one of those doggy laundromats.

   Hoss also gets along great with my son's dog who was at first timid around such a large dog.  We walked them both yesterday and it went great.  So things are going so good.

  I was worried about adopted a full grown dog, so was Rick.  Would he bond to us?  Would he be untrainable?  All unfounded in Hoss's case at least.   He seems happy to be here.   So different then Zoey but lovable in his own noisy way.  Gee, I wonder if Rick would like to get another? LOL.

Hoss, I think Zoey would approve.

   We had not intended to get another dog so soon and Rick maybe never again.   But this rescue dog turned up with this wrinkled ole face and what could you do.  He needed a home.

      Hoss is 2 1/2.  His breed is called a Olde English Bulldogge, in reality he is still a cross breed from an English bulldog shown below

  And an American Bulldog.

          And you end up with a dog that is bred for his easy going temperament,  outstanding loyalty and the loudest snore I have ever heard from a dog.  He has his momma's face but his daddy's body.  Except his nose isn't that smashed up to his face.

    Zoey was irreplaceable.  No doubt about it.  Hoss is nothing like my sweet Zoey.   He didn't know how to walk on a leash.  And since he weights in at 72 pounds of pure muscle that was a problem.  But this breed wants to please its owner and in only a few short hours he has it down pat.

   Now Hoss has been raised around cats and his foster had 3 cats.   Hoss likes them.  We haven't actually found anything Hoss doesn't like except for peanut butter biscuits.   He loves everybody, large and small,  loves every dog and was playing with cows at this foster.  Since originally this dog was called the butcher dog because it could capture and hold its cows for its owner I found that funny.

   I was nervous about the adoption.  Would he like us?  I have never had a male dog and have never adopted a full grown dog before.  I have always done my own training.  We spent the week before his arrival and read everything we could about the breed and how to rescue a dog successfully.  I love the dog whisperer.  We used his video to set the ground rules right away about who was the leader in our pack.  Great stuff. And I plan to have him take some obedience training.  He is strong, stronger even then Zoey.   I want to teach him to come.

        Hoss is so different then Zoey.  He snores loudly.   He toots at will.  Because of the bulldog he is snorting and sloppering alot.   He is naturally very friendly where Zoey was standoffish until she got to know you.  Everybody deserves wet sloppy kisses according to Hoss.  We have to work on getting him not to jump up and start kissing the strangers on the street.  They may not like a big headed dog sneezing in their face then licking it off.  But I do.  

  Hoss still has some scabs and sores from his past life as a dog who was not taken care of by his owner.  Noah's Hope rescue takes in the strays, no matter how injured.

   I hope you will all take a moment and vote for Noah's Hope Animal Rescue at this site.  The could win some much needed money.  You have to like the page to vote.  Vote today.

https://fb.chasegiving.com/charity/view/ein/27-0697985

  Hoss watching Xena watching Chester who is keeping his eyes on the both of them.  How do you like Xena's new bed, LOL.  Looks like a sock monkey.

  So Xena as been slinking around, hissing and batting at Hoss.   Hoss just kind of stares back, wiggles his stubby tale, which is that way naturally, and seems to say.  When your ready we will be pals.  Just perfect the way he isn't forcing himself on her and she is slowly coming up and sniffing him.  I think Xena will finally get a dog she can play and cuddle with.  Zoey just never really cared for her.

  Once again we have the patter was feet in our hour and fur bodies pressing against us for a hugs.  The house seemed hollow and empty without Zoey.  Lifeless even.  It is whole again.  And I think Zoey would like Hoss.  I know Hoss would have like Zoey.

Life Without Zoey

 

  It has almost been 2 weeks since Zoey passed.   Slowly I am getting used to not having her furry self to greet us at the door and beg at our table.   It has been difficult.

    The day after Zoey went to the Rainbow bridge I was eating my breakfast and just automatically saved her a bite and looked to where she would lie waiting.   No Zoey.   I could almost see her.   If you caught her begging she would hurry up and look away,  "I'm not begging", and then as soon as you looked away her face would turn to you again and her soft brown eyes would burn into you, mentally reminding you that she was there and waiting.

   Xena spent the first 3 days going from room to room and meowing at the top of her voice.   Day and night.   She has started sitting on our laps and sleeping in our bed.   Something she never did before.   She has started to settled down but I found her sleeping with one of Zoey's toys.   Weird.   She always liked Zoey much more then Zoey liked her.

    Yesterday I finally put Zoey's leash and treat jar away.   That was ridiculously difficult.  I know in my mind what is final but my heart still wants her to come in and nudge the jar with her nose.

   On the back door are some dirty smudges from years of Zoey using her nose to push the door open.   I know I will tackle cleaning them off some day.  But not yet.

    I bury my nose in Xena's fur and can remember how nice Zoey smelled.   But Xena is not the same.  Xena has also taken to following me from room to room like Zoey did, weird.

   I miss the way Zoey would greet you by shoving her face between you legs, forcing you to stop and reach down and pet her and scratch her under her arms.   She loved that and so did I.

   We had steak last night.   It seemed wrong to just toss the scraps.  What a waste.

   Tuesday we are expecting the urn we ordered.  Zoey's face will be laser cut on it.   Rick wants to save the ashed in the urn,  someday she will be put to rest with us.  If you have never had a beloved pet this will seem weird,  we are careful who we tell that to.  But for those that know what it is like you will understand.  It just seems right.

   So slowly we are adjusting.  It has the same feeling when Betty and Merle passed.